The Russian industrial zone under discussion between Egypt and Russia will be built over 2 square kilometres near the coastal city of Port Said, the Egyptian official in charge said. “The target now is that they want to start with 2 million square metres," most likely in Port Said area of the zone, Ahmed Darwish, chairman of the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone, told Ahram Online. The planned Russia zone will include projects in five different sectors, said Darwish. Russia and Egypt are taking steps to establish joint ventures in the areas of truck manufacturing, agricultural equipment, construction equipment, ship building, furniture making, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, and land reclamation and energy, Minister of Industry and Trade Tarek Kabil told a gathering of representatives from 60 Russian companies in Cairo on Monday, according to an official statement. The Authority is in charge of financing and providing water and electricity, said Darwish, while the Russian-appointed developer will be responsible "for infrastructure within the 2 kilometres [squared] and the surfaces for their customers," he said. The Authority has been approached by “seven or eight” banks interested in providing infrastructure finance, said Darwish, and it will be talking to the African Development Bank and “other donors” for “long-term, low-interest rate financing.” (ahramonline)